Manufactured goods are typically warranted against defects for a predetermined period of time after purchase. In present warranty registration methods for manufactured goods, a card is included in the packaging. In order to register the product and authenticate the warranty, users must fill out the card and send it back to the manufacturer by mail. This process is inefficient and unreliable. Filling out a postcard in pen and sending it for mail delivery is time consuming, and purchasers of manufactured goods frequently either lose warranty registration cards or dispose of them due to inconvenience.
Manufacturers of expensive goods and sought-after brands also suffer from the production of counterfeits and the unauthorized resale of previously sold goods. Manufacturers may be compelled to honor warranties on these counterfeit or re-sold goods as there is no way to track whether or not retailers are selling products at the suggested price or re-selling returned goods. Furthermore, it is difficult for potential purchasers to determine before actually purchasing a product whether the product they are purchasing is counterfeit or a product being re-sold without authorization. This leads to a lack of trust between manufacturers and purchasers.
There is therefore a need for a warranty and registration system that allows potential purchasers to determine that a product is a genuine article prior to sale. There is also a need for a mechanism for reporting counterfeit products or products being re-sold without authorization based on information provided by the potential purchaser. Additionally, there is a need for a mechanism allowing purchasers to easily register a product after purchase, that also provides a manufacturer with notice that an individual product has been sold and monitoring information about retail sales of the product to ensure genuine products are sold at the appropriate price. These and other issues are addressed in the accompanying summary, description and claims.